My dog loves camp and they know him by name. He pretty much lets himself in through the doors when we get there! And, he's always super tired when I pick him up. The socialization and play piece is wonderful. I have used the boarding and day camp frequently over the last few years. I have also gotten the exit bath a few times. I like that there is always a Camp Counselor (human) in the room when I check on my dog via the web cams during day camp. I agree with other reviewers in that it sometimes seems like the Camp Counselors are not interacting with the dogs. You can see them on the web cams leaning over the fencing apparatus and facing away from the dogs. Nevertheless, my dog must enjoy camp since he always comes home so tired. The exit baths have been fine, but I do prefer the baths from my usual groomer. I feel like they are always trying to up-sell you on the exit bath. Either way, in-house baths are a convenient option and I'm glad they are available. I appreciate that the staff is communicative. If they don't answer the phone when you call them, they will call back. My dog did get mild kennel cough-type symptoms a few times after camp when he was younger. I always figured this was pretty much unavoidable in boarding situations. It's not been a problem as he's gotten older. My biggest criticism is re: the pricing. Prices went up significantly at the beginning of the year. For example, one night of boarding without a package was $35 and now it's $42. I know this because their old prices are still posted online as of the writing of this review (http://www.campbowwow.com/columbia-sc/services-pricing/dog-boarding). I feel that they should either honor what's posted online or change the online posting. After looking around online, I saw that other franchises increased their prices as well but several had posted notices online on their price page so that pet owners could buy packages before the prices increased. I wish I had been notified of the upcoming price increase, as I would have taken advantage of such an opportunity. In fact, I didn't find out about the price increase until I picked my dog up from boarding one weekend. At this time, the prices weren't actually posted anywhere (they are usually on a framed printed off piece of paper next to the front desk). I understand that prices have to go up from time to time, but some communication around the price changes should have happened. I have also noticed some changing faces among the staff. Before the prices increased, there were a few employees who always seemed very attentive and approachable. However, they don't seem to be there anymore. Some of the newer staff, while still friendly, just don't seem to have the same levels of love and enthusiasm for the job as previous staff. read more

Our dog loves coming to to Camp Bow Wow. The staff is friendly and accommodating. His tail wags as soon as we get close to the facility, and he is treated like family. read more

Had all three dogs visit Camp Bow Wow last year 2021 and all three dogs were ACCEPTED although they had misgivings about our great Dane mix. Eventually, they said the great Dane mix would not be a fit. Before that happened we purchased three day trips for each dog & we never got around to using them because since they couldn't board all three dogs, we found another kennel... (Check out wagon train in Irmo... Great place! ) Anyway, I contacted them recently to see if they could take the two dogs for an overnight and utilize the money we spent in good faith. We were never informed that there was an expiration date to using the doggy daycare.. They said the dogs would have to go through a whole other orientation and that they would NOT honor the money we spent on the daycare packages we purchased since it was over a year. Frankly I was shocked at their response. What the hell? What kind of customer service is this? What kind of company would not honor money that was spent in good faith for THEIR programs... Sure, I understand the need to reevaluate the dog since it's been a year, but not honor the money we spent? We will never do business with these guys again. read more

We really like sending our dogs here to get some energy out and for boarding purposes. However, we have a really hard time getting in touch with them via phone. Sometimes I call and call and never get an answer from them, which is important since they have our animals from time to time. read more

My dog stayed here for a few nights recently, and the "daily feeding fee" is absurd. I also paid for them to bathe my puppy, and they did not dry him. i picked him up, and he was shivering, and still wet. Not impressed. read more

I often write very positive reviews because I believe people and business eases deserve to be recognized. Other than this one, I can think of only one other negative review. This manager is very non-customer driven. She digs in her heels with her policy. Take it or leave it attitude. She insisted on an interview from 7-7:30 am. We could not arrive before 10 am. Fifteen other dog day care facilities have figured out how to manage this situation. Have new puppies meet others one at a time yo see how they play. But no, this manager can't do that. "It's our policy". A very successful business leader is quoted as telling his employees. "If any of our rules, regulations, policies or procedures get in the way of taking care of customers Break The Rule". And figure it out. She did not even try. read more

My dog Kobe Bryant loves it and love the cameras to watch him. Place is very clean and the staff is amazing. Highly recommended!!

No problems except the explanation they gave for not wearing masks is that it made the dogs nervous... not sure why that would be when we the pet owners have been wearing masks around our dogs gong on two years now. The also didn't tell me beforehand they would give a breakaway collar at a of 5or 10 dollars when my pet already had one. read more

Verrry attentive and personal with your dogs. My dog is excited to go in each day. Definitely not her feeling of daycare at other centers in the past. read more

My dogs love Camp Bow wow fort mill. So when we moved to Columbia we were excited to see another location and get my pups in. Unfortunately Frank the owner is extremely tough to work with. When I tried to get my dogs in he said they had to come at 7am for a pre-visit, which I totally understand. Unfortunately I couldn't make the particular day work with his schedule-- instead of trying to work with me on scheduling another day Frank proceeded to hang up on me.. I was shocked. Tried to call back multiple times to speak with him and fix this and he screened my calls. Fast forward a few months tried to get my dogs in again and Frank placed a BLOCK on my account with Camp bow wow. Shocked and saddened by how rude this whole experience has been. The lack of customer service is a shame. I just wanted my dogs to have a familiar experience unfortunately Franks poor attitude is getting in the way of that. I hope he can learn that you can't treat customers let alone people so poorly and expect to no one to hear about it... such a shame. Do not recommend this location to anyone. read more

Camp Bow Wow Columbia is the best! I am a graduate student and Camp Bow Wow is a life saver! All of the staff members are always very nice and sweet. I have been taking my dog to camp here for a few years and have never had a bad experience. My dog is so excited to go to camp in the morning and always arrives and leaves with a wagging tail. My dog is tired for a few days after playing all day with other dogs at camp. Also, you can watch your dog on the cameras while they are at camp which is a big plus. The only downside that I have found is that your dog will leave a little dirty and smelling like camp - but it is totally worth it! They do offer exit baths for when your dogs leave if you want your dog to be clean though; I just wipe mine down with a wet washcloth and that usually does the trick. read more

I really really like this boarder. We have two dogs that have boundless amounts of energy, and they always come home tired after even a day or two here. The staff is very friendly, courteous, and they love dogs. I know that should be the norm at a kennel, but it seems that some places just hire anyone, and then animals get sick because no-one cares for them properly. They even let my two dogs stay in the same kennel so they are more comfortable, and let us bring them a blanket from home as well. A final fun thing, though by no means necessary, is you can watch your dogs from your phone most of the day via webcam. My wife absolutely loves this, and it is a nice 'extra' to have when you're across the country and want to check in on the pups. Also, they offer a military discount of 10%. read more

This place is terrible. I was here for one night out of town and needed a place to board my dog. I let them know my situation and they said no problem I could pick him up the next day. They failed to tell me that they close at 10am on Saturday and don't re open till 4. I'm a sponsor of the Charleston Parks and rec fundraiser and needed to be back in Charleston by 4. Needless to say I missed the event and the ability for my own small business to have a booth which we paid for. Their laziness and unresponsiveness cost me hundreds. Truly sad that some people care so little about their customers. read more

I love this place almost as much as my dog does! The staff and owners go above and beyond to make sure both humans and pups are happy. My dog-who is glued to my side most the time-will run in the door at Camp Bow Wow! I can tell a positive difference in my dog from the socialization and play time she has at CBW. I hate to leave her, but when I have to overnight, I only leave my dog here, and by taking her as often as I can for day camp, I have found she is a happier girl. I highly recommend Camp Bow Wow for dog owners in the Columbia area. read more

I want to start with saying this is a review based solely on my experience which may be different from others. I also want to say the staff is good and pleasant but our two experiences here have left us disillusioned. It may be our dog as she is a 1 year old pup in very good health who does well with other dogs but the first time we left her here she came back home with the worst kennel cough ever. I notified them and apparently my dog was the only one that had gotten sick. We bought a package for 10 nights and left her a second time for 5 days. We picked her up and again with kennel cough. 2 weeks have gone by and she now has warts between all her toes on her paws. I work from home so my dog really isn't in contact with a lot of other dogs but she has been to dog parks a good number of times and around other family dogs. My conclusion is that while they are a great reliable place for dogs with established immune systems if you have a pup you may want somewhere where they care for fewer dogs. they may take in too many pets to control contagious diseases. They can only clean so often and the camera was a great plus. read more

MY DOG LOVES THIS PLACE!!!!! I have been taking him here for over a year, even after moving to a different state. The staff is always helpful and are able to accommodate my dog last minute. I have had many different experiences at other boarding places, but none as good as Camp Bow Wow. My dog gets super excited when we pull into the parking lot and as soon as we are inside, he completely forgets about me and wants nothing more than to go play with the other dogs. I can not thank Camp Bow Wow enough for taking such great care of my dog. read more

My dog loves daycare which accomplishes my goals of giving her playtime and socialization. Convenient location. Appreciate that Staff knows my dog by name and pay attention to her needs. Reasonably priced. read more

I just picked up my 8 month old female golden retriever from her interview day and was very disappointed. My pup has boundless energy right now so I was excited for her to get some attention and interaction with other dogs instead of being stuck inside all day while I'm at work. It's worth mentioning that my sister frequently brings her (small) dog here and had very good things to say about her experience. I think it's a very different experience for small/medium dogs than large breeds. First, when I emailed/called to schedule her interview I was told the first appointment wasn't until August. Only after saying my sister was an existing customer was I able to suddenly be worked in within the week. The play areas were not nearly as large as I expected them to be, hardly any room for large dogs to run around. Granted, this is an in town location so I can appreciate space being an issue. There were also SO many dogs in the space. I was a bit surprised they allowed that many dogs in a day. There weren't as many toys/apparatuses for the dogs to play on. Just one ramp outside. While there was always an attendant with the dogs, they weren't interacting or engaging any of the dogs as much as I would have liked. I frequently watched the dog cams through out the day (7 am to 4 pm) and for long periods of time (20 to 30 mins), so I don't think I just missed the interactions. Staff was very friendly and informative during drop off and pick up. But she was filthy when I picked her up. Not "I've been rolling in the mud and playing so hard dirty" but her paws and under belly and her entire tail just had grime all over. That indicates to me that the floor was so dirty that she got that way simply from laying on it all day. She was sticky and smelled like urine. It was so bad I had to roll the windows down in the car and give her a bath immediately. Given the other reviews about kennel cough, I definitely have concerns about the cleanliness. She was very tired when we got home, though. And the staff always seemed in control of the pack. 5/19/18 update (next morning): My dog hasn't touched her food, has been extremely lethargic all day and now has very runny poops! read more

Unfortunately, my dog will never experience Camp Bow Wow. I called to gather information on scheduling an interview and on the boarding process and the man who answered the phone was probably one of the rudest people I've ever encountered. Though we had a more complex situation, I was calling to see what was possible and was met with arrogance and a very dismissive attitude. Perhaps he was just having a bad day, but the customer service was so terrible that we decided to look elsewhere. read more

If you have a legal dispute, you lose the ability to resolve that matter in a court of law, because the company has decided to view all of its customers as potential litigants. Customers are forced to waive their legal rights by signing the agreement contract. The waiver release & indemnification sections release the company from all liability, including any duty to protect your dog, & deprives you of any legal action to seek justice should harm occur. read more

I like to bring my dog here for Daycare, but have had bad boarding experiences. I'm sure it meets some peoples needs, but I did not feel that my dog got enough (if any) individualized attention while she was there for a week. Maybe it is because it is such a big company and there are always a lot of dogs there? Regardless, I will be boarding my dog elsewhere from now on. read more

I have only had my pup attend one session and I couldn't be more impressed! My pup so happy and exhausted at the end of the day. The customer service was wonderful and I loved being able to watch my pup online! read more

So I know this is a little late but if you asked me about Camp Bow Wow a few months ago I had nothing but positive attitude. BUT I boarded my do for 16 days from May 30th to June 14th/15th. Well when I picked up my dog I noticed she was coughing as they brought her out to me. I took her to the vet 2 days later and he confirmed kennel cough and trachitis and could become pneumonia. So I immediately called Camp Bow Wow to let them know to hopefully prevent other dogs from getting this APPARENTLY NOT Monica R made a review on July 2nd with the same problem. While trying to contact the manager a employee told me they hadn't had an outbreak since end of May! Which I brought her in the end of May. Well I was never notified of this outbreak, it would of cost me less to put my dog on the airplane home with me.The manager told me that I was the first to report this and no other dogs had it. and hung up. He called back 5 min later to sound sincere and ask my dog was doing and hoped we would come back. I literally just paid $600 to keep here there while away then another $200 for the vet and 2 weeks of antibiotics. I only asked to be reimbursed the vet fees. He replied on my VM later that day that its like a Daycare he is not responsible if the dog comes home with a cold/flu like thing and he would not reimburse me or comp me anything. So please do not take your dog here! read more

My two pups love Camp Bow Wow! Frank always makes them feel welcome and provides great service. Im thankful theres a place in Columbia I can trust to drop off my dogs at. read more

The people at this location are friendly, knowledgable, and they love the dogs! My dog, Champ absolutely LOVES this place. Please bring Camp Bow Wow to Northeast so he can go more often! Thanks :) April Hughes read more

I have nothing bad to say about this place. I've taken my dog here for daycare for almost 2 weeks and boarded him once. Had positive experiences all around. In fact, my dog loves "play camp" so much he seems sad when he can't go on weekends. His first boarding experience was also excellent; I could see from the webcam he was having a blast playing. read more

I've been a Camp Bow Wow customer for 18 months, and whether my pet's stay is one day or a 2-week vacation, he is pampered and petted and properly fed and handled. The place is spotless. The owners, Frank and Christine, are very professional and love animals. The staff also is professional and caring. I have no reservations about recommending this company and the location is unbeatable. Count me a...Satisfied Customer. read more

Friendly, dependable professional dog care! We have used Camp Bow Wow every time we visit our daughter at USC. It's been a great experience for four years. We have always felt good about boarding teddy and he comes home happy! read more